In football, your biggest enemy isn’t always wearing the other team’s colors. Just ask Jabrill Peppers, who found himself on the wrong end of a Patriots‘ defensive play gone awry.

In the second quarter of Thursday night’s Jets-Patriots showdown, Peppers hit the turf hard. The culprit? Not a Jets player, but his own teammate, Keion White. As Zac Ventola reported on X, White’s attempted tackle on Allen Lazard went sideways, catching Peppers in the crossfire.

It’s a stark reminder that even the most well-oiled machines can misfire. The Patriots’ defense had been a fortress in the first two weeks, with Peppers playing every defensive snap. But one moment of miscommunication, and suddenly, the fortress had a chink in its armor.

Mike Reiss summed it up best on X: “Jabrill Peppers looks like he was hit by friendly fire from Keion White and he limps off to the blue medical tent.”

It isn’t just one play or a player. NFL is ever so close between winning and losing. The Patriots were already trailing 14-3 when Peppers left the game. Now, if they want to contain Aaron Rodgers, one of their big defensive cogs is out for at least next week.

How Peppers’ absence reshapes the Patriots’ defense

Let’s not sugarcoat it: Losing Peppers hurts the Patriots in a big way. Since he’s always been there for the team, having racked up 12 tackles over his first two games this season, Peppers is more than a player; he’s a captain of men in every sense.

Remember that opening game against the Bengals? Part of an ironman group for every defensive snap, Peppers helped restrict Joe Burrow to just 164 passing yards. That’s not just good; it’s the kind of performance that wins games.

“We don’t really care about the outside noise,” Peppers said after that game. “We only care about what the people believe and think inside our building.” Well, that noise inside the facility just grew a lot louder by his injury.

As Peppers is now questionable to return with ankle injury, enter Jaylinn Hawkins, the next man up. But can he fill Peppers’ cleats? That’s the million-dollar question. The Patriots’ defense under new head coach Jerod Mayo had been a bright spot. Now, they’re facing a test of their depth and adaptability.

As the game progressed, all eyes were on how the Patriots would counter the Jets’ attack. Would they summon all the brute force at their disposal in compensation for the absence of Peppers? Or just play safe and let other members of defense pick up slack as best they could?

One thing’s for sure – in the competitive AFC East there is no scope for self-pity. Bills are waiting, Jets are hungry, and New England has to plug this hole in their defense as quickly as possible.